Thread-controlling means for sewing-machines.



G. H. T. HAGELSTBIN.

THREAD CONTROLLING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 12, 1913.

Patented Jan. 20, 1914.

"Jada/14am l8 l2 I9 20 Witnesses. Inventor.

Christian HT Hagelstein,

b WWIzW Atty's.

cnLuMBlA PLANOGRM'II KID-,WASIHNGTON. :1. c4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN H. '1. HAG-ELSTEIN, OF DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOREECE BUTTONHOLE MACHINE COMPANY, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR-PORATION OF MAINE,

THREAD-CONTROLLING MEANS FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN H. T. HAeELs'rnIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Dorchester, county of Suffolk, State oflvlassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Thread-ControllingMeans for Sewing-Machines, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawing, is a speclficatlon, l kecharacters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to threadcontrolling means for sewing machines ofthat gen eral type which is illustrated in United States Patent No. 937,7 05, dated October 19, 1909, and granted on application of JohnMaitland, and has for its principal obyect to provide an improvedthread-controlling means of this type which is specially designed tomeet the requirements of high speed operation. The device shown in saidPatent No. 937,705 was designed for use in connection with so-calledlmttonhole finishing machines, such for instance, as is shown in UnitedStates Patent to Reece No. 404,863, dated July 11, 1889 and UnitedStates Patent No. 1,009,408 dated November 21, 1911 and granted on anapplication of mine.

The thread-controlling means illustrated in said Patent No. 937,705comprises a tension device and a spring-actuated auxiliary take-up leveror check, as it is termed in the trade, which acts on the thread betweenthe tension device and the re ular take-up lever of the machine, saidcheck or auxiliary take-up lever cooperating with the regular takeuplever to take up any slack in the thread and to maintain a propertension at all times on the thread. In said Patent No. 987,705 also thetension device and the auxiliary take-up or check are mounted on a baseplate which is detachably secured to the sewing machine base.

There is a constantly growing demand in the trade for sewing machineswhich will operate an increased speed and it has been found that whilethe device shown in the Patent No. 937,705 operates satisfactorily whenthe sewing machine is run at a moderate speed, yet when the speed of thesewing machine is increased beyond a certain point the check device doesnot follow the movements of the take-up lever with that Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1913.

Patented Jan. 20, 1 914. Serial No. 778,653.

delicacy and perfection that necessary for perfect sewing, this beingdue to the manner in which the check of said patent is constructed andt0 the inertia of the moving parts.

It is in order to satisfy the requirements of a high speed sewingmachine that I have made my present invention by which I have improvedthe thread-controlling means of said Patent No. 937 ,705 in such a waythat it will operate as satisfactorily when the sewing machine is run atan extremely high speed as it does when the machine is run at a moremoderate speed. Furthermore, in making these improvements I haveprovided a simplified way of adjusting the parts so as to providedifferent tensions for the check to meet different requirements of useand I have also made other improvements in the device all as will bemore fully hereinafter described and then pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring now to the drawings wherein I have illustrated a selectedembodiment of my invention for the purpose of disclosing the principlethereof Figure 1 is a rear side view of the base of a buttonholcfinishing machine showing my improved thread-controlling means thereon.Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the thread-controlling means removed fromthe plate. Fig. 3 is a section on the line w-w, Fig. 2. Fig. l is asection on the line y-y, Fig. 2.

Since my invention relates to the threadcontrolling means only, I havenot deemed it necessary to illustrate to any extent the sowing machineitself but I have shown a sewing machine base A which is horizontallyslotted at a in. which slot the usual vibrating take-up lever Boperates, all as shown in said Patents Nos. 404,803 and 937,705.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have shown thethread-controlling means as mounted on a base plate C as shown in saidPatent No. 937,705, although it is not essential to the invention thatthe threadcontrolling means should be thus mounted.

My improved thread-controlling means comprises a tension device and anauxiliary take-up or check, both of which are designed to meet therequirements of high speed operation. The tension device is herein shownas comprising the usual friction disks 1, 2 between which the thread ifis adapted to extend, the disk 2 being acted upon by a spring 3 whichapplies the frictional pressure to the thread as usual in tensiondevices of this sort. As herein shown, these friction disks are mountedon a stud 4: which is secured to the base plate C and this stud hasscrew-threaded thereto the nut 5 by which the tension of the spring 3can be adjusted. There is nothing novel in this particulartype oftension device per se.

The check or auxiliary take-up which I employ to meet "the requirementsof high speed operation is in the form of a spring wire arm 6 which isformed at its end with the guide eye 7 through which the thread 25passes. This spring wire check is sustained by a stud 8 secured to thebase plate C, said wire being wound around the stud a plurality oftimes, and the end 9 of the wire having its extremity 10 bent laterallyand adapted to enter in one of a plurality of holes 11, formed in thebaseplate O. The spring wire check is so constructed that it tendsnormally to move toward the tension device or to the right in Fig. 2 butit will yield to the left, Fig. 2 under the influence of the thread Ifand will thus cooperate with the take-up lever B in taking up the slackof the thread and maintaining a proper tension thereon. The tensionwhich this check 6 gives to the thread can be adjusted by simplyadjusting the arm or end 9 of the spring, for it will be seen that byshifting the said end downwardly Fig. 2, the amount of force or tensionwhich the take-up will apply to the thread will be increased, while byshifting the end 9 upwardly this tension or force will be decreased. Theresiliency of the wire permits the operator to readily withdraw the end10 from any aperture 11 and then to swing the end 9 up or down to placethe required tension on the take-up, after which the end 10 can bereentered into one of the apertures 11, thereby to hold the take-up inits adjusted posit-ion.

Cooperating with the take-up or check 6 is an adjustable stop whichlimits the throw thereof, and in my present invention I have provided astop of such construction that it can be adjusted while the machine isin operation and without the necessity of using a screw-driver or otherimplement for this purpose. Furthermore, in my present invention thestop can be adjusted without varying the tension on the check 6 and thetension on the check can also be adjusted without changing the posit-ionof the stop, and in both of these respects my invention is differentfrom and an improvement over the device shown in Patent No. 937,705.

In the present embodiment the adjustable stop is in the form of an arm12 which is shown as pivotally mounted on the stud 4t which carries thetension device and said arm 12 has associated therewith a handle 13 bywhich it can be adjusted, said handle being shown as provided with alocking pin 14; adapted to enter in one of a plurality of recesses 15formed in the base plate C. The stop arm 12 is situated in the rear ofthe check 6 and between the guide eye 7 and the point of connectionbetween the check and the base plate, and it will be readily seen thatby adjusting the arm 13 up or down the stop arm 12 will be moved towardor from the check device 6. Said stop arm acts as a means to limit theextent of the backward throw of the check and in using the sewingmachine it is necessary to adjust this for difi erent grades ofmaterial.

The stud a is herein shown as provided with a bearing portion 16 onwhich the arm 12 is sustained and said stud has also fast thereon acollar or flange 17 which is interposed between the stop arm and thetension device and which serves to hold the stop arm in proper positionon the stud.

18 is a guide member which is secured to the base plate C by meansof thescrew 19 and pin 20 and between which and the base plate the check 6 andstop arm 12 are situated, said guide member operating to hold the stoparm and check in proper position relative to each other. The front endof the guide member is bent laterally as shown at 21, thereby furnishinga stop to limit the forward movement 0f the check.

It will be seen that I have reduced materiall the number of parts inthis threadcontro ling means and have also simplified the construction.Furthermore, the device as constructed will operate satisfactorily atthe highest speed at which it is possible to run the sewing machine. Inaddition, the tension of the check can be adjusted independently fromits length of stroke and vice versa, and these adjustments can beeffected without the use of any implements and while the machine is inoperation. All of these features are of decided advantage in theoperation of a sewing machine of this type.

While I have herein illustrated the parts of the thread-controllingmeans as mounted on a base plate 0 which is detachably secured to thesewing machine base A, yet this particular way of mounting these partsis not essential to the invention. Furthermore, various constructionalchanges may be made in the parts without departing from the invention,as outlined in the appended claims.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Thread controlling means for a sewing machine comprising a base platehaving a plurality of recesses, a stud secured to said base plate, atension device on said stud, a spring wire check supported by said baseplate, an L-shaped stop member pivoted on said stud between the tensiondevice and base plate, one arm of said stop member constituting a stopfor the check and the other arm constituting a handle by which the stopcan be adjusted, and a locking pin on said latter arm adapted to enterone of said recesses and thus hold the stop member in adjusted position.

2. Thread-controlling means for sewing machines comprising a base platehaving a series of recesses, a tension device on said base plate, a studsecured to said plate, a check formed of spring wire which has a guideeye at one end and is coiled about said stud, the other end of said Wirehaving a laterally extending portion adapted to engage in any one ofsaid recesses, a stop for the check and means for adjusting the positionof said stop.

3. Thread-controlling means for sewing machines comprising a base platehaving a series of recesses, a tension device on said base plate, a studsecured to said plate, a check formed of spring wire which has a guideeye at one end and is coiled about said stud, the other end of said wirehaving a laterally extending portion adapted to engage in any one ofsaid recesses, a stop for the check pivotally mounted on the base plateand means to turn the stop about its pivot thereby to control the lengthof movement of the check.

4. Thread controlling means for sewing machines comprising a base plate,a tension device thereon, a spring wire check having a guide eye for thethread, a stop arm pivotally mounted on the base plate, and pro videdwith means by which it may be turned about its pivot thereby to adjustits position, and a guidin member separate from the stop arm and fixedysecured to the base plate, said guiding member overlying both the checkand the stop arm.

5. Thread controlling means for sewing machines comprising a base plate,a tension device thereon, a spring wire check having a guide eye for thethread, a stop arm pivotally mounted on the base plate, and providedwith means by which it may be turned about its pivot thereby to adjustits position, and a guiding member separate from the stop armand-fixed1y secured to the base plate, said guiding member overlyingboth the check and the stop arm and havlng a laterally extending portionto form a stop to limit the forward movement of the check.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHRISTIAN I1. '1. HAGELS'IEIN.

Witnesses:

J. WARREN NICHOLS, WM. C. Bouvnnr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

